The Washington Commanders have a major problem that needs to be fixed, and Terry McLaurin is the only one benefiting from it
Terry McLaurin is gaining leverage thanks to this major problem
Up to this point, the Washington Commanders have had all of the leverage over All-Pro WR Terry McLaurin, but things may be shifting thanks to one major issue.
McLaurin has no possible way of gaining leverage from a financial standpoint, but the lack of depth at wide receiver is helping his case on the field. We learned at the first practice against another team that the wide receiver room may not be as good as it looks at practice.
The only reliable weapons currently
At training camp, wide receivers have had flashes of great plays, but nobody has been able to stack good days consistently outside of a few players. The joint practice against the Patriots on Wednesday showed that the Commanders have a major problem in the wide receiver room, and that’s depth and production.
McLaurin had a historic connection with QB Jayden Daniels last season, and that’s hard to replace, but Deebo Samuel has been nothing but spectacular since he showed up in Washington, and he’s taken full advantage of McLaurin skipping out on training camp. Samuel has been the clear best WR on the field at practice, and it’s not remotely close.
Outside of Samuel, veteran TE Zach Ertz has been the other favorite target of Daniels, and the two have picked up where they left off last season. Having that safety blanket is major for a QB, but you still need more weapons on the outside.
RB Austin Ekeler was a big receiving threat that outproduced both Dyami Brown and Luke McCaffrey last season, but he shouldn’t be one of the top names mentioned in targets in the passing game.
The unproven young bucks
The Commanders need to hit on recent draft picks to sustain success in the future, and all eyes are on Luke McCaffrey and Jaylin Lane. I think Lane can come in and be productive in his first season, but that’s yet to be seen. He has the highest upside on the team, in my opinion. McCaffrey has been learning the position more, and he can be poised to be more productive, but once again, it’s unknown at this point.
Undrafted rookie Ja’Corey Brooks is another guy I’m hopeful of that could be a gem for the Commanders. He was a five-star recruit who got buried on the depth chart at Alabama before transferring to Louisville, where he finished with over 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns in his lone season with the Cardinals.
Veterans fighting for a spot
Commanders HC Dan Quinn has mentioned Chris Moore and K.J. Osborn as two players who arrived at the end of the season last year and have had the chance to actually learn the system this offseason. Both had had solid showings at practice, but nothing that shows possible consistent production. Michael Gallup came out of retirement, but he was a 1,000-yard receiver at one point, so maybe he can produce some this season.
Practice shouldn’t be taken too seriously as the team is still learning the system and building that connection with Daniels at quarterback, but the Commanders need some of the wide receivers outside of Deebo Samuel and Noah Brown to step up while McLaurin is absent. The season is right around the corner.
Of course, Daniels is talented enough to elevate others around him like he did last season, but you should support him instead of relying on him to do so. A slow showing in the three preseason games can give more leverage to McLaurin to show his worth on the field, as if he needed it.
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